Joint outreach trip to Rēkohu Chatham Islands - Annual Report 2025

20 June, 2026

At the beginning of October, we joined a small but enthusiastic team of scientists and science communicators on an outreach trip to the Chatham Islands (Rēkohu/Wharekauri, population around 700). The Institute has visited the Chatham Islands previously (in 2022), as part of the Festival of Science. We were eager to go back, in recognition of the value of repeat outreach visits, especially in more remote communities.

Driving hydrogen cars at Te One School

Deputy Director Associate Professor Anna Garden represented the Institute and joined others from Tūhura Otago Museum, the Dodd-Walls Centre and the MBIE Research Programme Solar Tsunamis. It was a full and varied programme with full-day school visits including whakawhanaungatanga at the two schools on the main island (9 and 54 students), pub talks and talks at the council chambers, a pub quiz (27 people), a short-film screening, a science showcase and two community pop-up science days (86 visitors). Anna's talk at the pub titled "What would we do without oil?!" was well-received by the 35 patrons. We were fortunate to stay at the beautiful Kōpinga Marae (Moriori), where we also had the chance to learn more about the history of the Chatham Islands.

The real highlights were the community science days. The whole team was struck by the depth of engagement from the visitors, with most families staying for over two hours with us, interacting with our science demos with kids showing their families what they had learned the previous days at school. Liquid nitrogen ice-cream and hydrogen bubbles were highlights, with one child commenting that they had only ever seen a video of these. Many families stayed on to share cups of tea and for their kids to play with friends. We were also gifted three fresh crayfish as a thank you.

The benefits of a joint team were evident in that we could pool resources for shared costs, invest more time overall with the schools, run more activities and embed more into the community. We were also able to contribute to the costs of boat travel, meaning we could take approved chemicals that could not go by air.

We thank the community of the Chatham Islands for welcoming us for a week, and particularly the Hokotehi Moriori Trust. We also thank the crew of RSV Evohe for safe passage for us and our gear.